Ishaveya: Go Big Or Go Home.

Ishaveya: This China platform for Indian designers may yet be an uncut diamond, but given time it will become a round brilliant one.

Featured image: Me

Diamonds have never been this girl’s best friend — nor will they ever be. But despite my resistance to go glacial, I do like my rings and bracelets and other Christmas-tree-like-getups big. With a capital B. I just don’t do understated. And where better to bask my dainty fingers in some bold bijouterie than at Ishaveya’s Beijing headquarters — bringing a bejeweled piece of India to the Middle Kingdom. A little Throwback Thursday, yet one still as swish-delish as ever.

The Missus Herself: Jahanavi Bhaskar Laag at Ishaveya’s Beijing HQ. (Image courtesy of Time Out Beijing)

“We’re Indian. Indians do not live in China.” These were the prophetic words spoken by Jahanavi Bhaskar Laag’s mother when her daughter announced she, together with her swish (Swiss-Swedish, come on) husband, would be moving to Beijing. As the old Indian saying goes, “One’s mother and homeland are greater than even heaven.” Mom sure did have a point here; however non-PC this may sound. India and China, the two most populated nations in the world and both so alike in their substantial economic growth of the past decades, sometimes seem more like the curious cats down the lane peeking out of the kitchen curtains, than two strategically cooperating global tigers on their way to create a massive roar on the international stage.

From working in her mother’s interior design company to wanting to work in wildlife protection to majoring in social anthropology and ancient history at University College London; from India to London to Sweden, Laag has been around the global block. Yet she never could have imagined China would feature on the itinerary. After setting foot on the Beijing tarmac, it was only a matter of time from thereon before her brand Ishaveya, importing affordable Indian hand-crafted accessories, came into being. Laag cares most about the story behind every piece; in this light she can rest assured: China will give you stories to tell your great-grandchildren (or grandchildren, but I prefer positive thinking).

Square elegance. I still want this.

The ring that is Beijing

“I just wanted to crawl under the duvet and cry.” Jahanavi B. Laag

The boxing ring, that is. I think plenty of us can at one point or another identify with that feeling of just wanting to stay in bed and stare into Beijing’s snow-filled grey blank winter sky. For some it’s the language barrier, for others it may be visa issues (I can almost hear the collective sigh of compassion blowing in from the foreign front on this one), and for yet others it’s both. Beijing can deal a serious blow to even the most grounded and together people out there. Laag indeed got her share of the moon cake.

The Missus herself: Jahanavi Bhaskar Laag at the Beijing Ishaveya HQ. (Image courtesy of Time Out Beijing)

The China hill at a distance appears smooth… (I did indeed brush up on my Indian proverbs for this one). But when you zoom in, you’ll see it’s dressed in potholes. With no job, no friends and nowhere to go, Laag spent her first few months in China hauled up at the couple’s serviced apartment. Not too shabby, you might think, but when you are fully dependent on your husband, cannot utter a tone in Chinese and have to fly back to Delhi every 30 days in order to pay a visit to the city’s China Visa Center (hooray), the feeling of general malaise can hit you like the nightmare that is Guomao subway station during rush hour. Room service won’t help you one bite.

Nevertheless, she made it through her hazy China months and things were looking up. The path up the hill started to resemble more that of Beijing’s Fragrant Mountain and at this point, her frequent (euphemism, granted) trips to Delhi often saw her paying a visit to the jewelers her family had been going to for generations, since many of her Beijing-based friends expressed an interest in adorning themselves with some unique Indian pieces. As do I for that matter. The idea of setting up a China business to import these gems and create a platform for Indian design in China was now officially taking shape. One question remained: How to polish her China company?

Ishaveya brings a

bejeweled piece of Indian design

to Beijing. (All images courtesy of Ishaveya)

BCBG vs PCPG

“The trust between the customer and myself is essential.” Jahanavi B. Laag

China and fashion have one thing in common for sure: Neither is entirely politically correct (but then again, who is?) and both require parental guidance (sobbing long-distance phone calls…happens to the best of us). When your mother was once named one of India’s 50 most stylish women by the nation’s Vogue edition, you are bound to have some BCBG (“bon chic, bon genre,” just for good measure) running through your veins. Laag took the rough cut of her idea and ran with it by starting to organize small jewelry showings at her home. The hand-polished and hand–crafted luxury stones, from lapis lazuli to turquoise to sapphire, found resonance with both foreign and Chinese women; Ishaveya was a fact.

Even though many clubs and hangouts across China’s capital city are still blinded by the “wrong” kind of sparkle, think Gary Glitter boots, the Chinese woman is now increasingly fashion conscious and interested in creating her own style through accessorizing, or learning how to do so. As Laag said herself, “An accessory can make or break any outfit; it can lift it from day to night. Put on whatever you want, but just make sure you are comfortable with it. Only then can you carry it off. Confidence is the best accessory of them all.” She may not be protecting wildlife, but she’s definitely carrying on her cultural heritage — even better than “protecting,” methinks.

Ishaveya plays into this sense of curiosity and desire for new, more “exotic” if you will, fashion items and who knows…it may even help chip away at the wariness still in place between the giant neighbors. Bold, statement pieces at affordable prices attract both Beijing’s foreign and Chinese clientele, but the most important asset for Laag in setting up her China stage is the bond of trust between her clients and the company. Fine, swift service — a rare commodity in today’s society — lies at the core of the business, with Laag’s ethics of duty giving the company a truly PCPG aspect. I see it as ethical fashion taken to yet another level. Laag’s dream of creating a China platform for Indian designers may yet be an uncut diamond, but given time it will become a round brilliant one.

The pieces may have cherished histories to them, but Ishaveya’s story has only just begun.

A little Ghandhi never hurt anyone so bear in mind:

“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.”

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Published by Elsbeth van Paridon

I, Elsbeth van Paridon, am a Sinologist and run-of-the-mill fashion aficionada. After tackling Beijing for some six years and living in Hong Kong for a bit, I currently find myself in the Europe-based throes and woes of the dragon that is a degree in Journalism.
我，伊丽莎白，是一名汉学家和时尚爱好者。在北京努力地生活了六年之后，我短暂地转战到了香港，现在返回了欧洲的我正在攻读新闻学学位的征程上努力奋斗着。
Perpetually in pursuit of the greater good that is “China Fashion”, I set up Temper Magazine to help promote the dynamite dynamic fashion scene sprouting within Beijing, Shanghai and China overall. Catering to anybody and everybody who reads English and/or Chinese, Temper Magazine covers all the basics and bases. From China's street style scenery to its budding photographers and internationally renowned designers: We present one hot-hip-happening current collective weaving The New "Made in China" tag.
我创建的双语时尚杂志Temper Magazine，宣传介绍在北京、上海及全中国的有关中国时尚的最新前沿动态，关注并深度挖掘“中国时尚”内涵。迎合中外读者，涵盖时尚基础。从街头风格，到新秀摄影师，到国际知名设计师：Temper Magazine迅速捕捉并记录着这场炙手可热的新“中国制造”风潮。
The term “Made in China” is undergoing the ultimate 21st Century makeover. Escorted by the increasingly strong influence of a new thinking among China’s younger generations, regarding individuality and the expression thereof, the fashion scene in the Middle Kingdom is exploding. And stretches far beyond what meets the eye. It’s appliqué, one might say.
“中国制造”的定义正在经历着一场21世纪终极改造。在中国年轻一代人的个性风格及表达的强烈影响下，中国时尚界引发的这场时尚大爆炸，触及社会的各个层面，其深度、规模及影响力早已超出了我们的所见范围。
View all posts by Elsbeth van Paridon

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About Temper Magazine／关于Temper杂志

From Beijing to Shanghai and every corner of the Mainland, China’s fashion scene is a phenomenon that deserves to be explored by the global design and fashion world. In order to capture a real sense of this colorful and inspiring new landscape, Temper Magazine looks into the art of clothing in contemporary China.

We collect the latest in menswear design, women’s clothing, designer newbies, established names, changes in the street scenery and budding photographers. Explore 21st Century China through a fashion focused lens and enjoy the ongoing change and innovation within the everyday whirlwind that is China Fashion Design.

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About TEMPER Magazine／关于Temper杂志

From Beijing to Shanghai and every corner of the Mainland, China’s fashion scene is a phenomenon that deserves to be explored by the global design and fashion world. In order to capture a real sense of this colorful and inspiring new landscape, Temper Magazine looks into the art of clothing in contemporary China.
从北京到乌鲁木齐,现代中国的时装舞台是全球设计师和时装领城必须探索的一种现象. 为了真正的反映这个鼓舞人心的新景观,Temper杂志调查当代中国的服装艺术.
We collect the latest in menswear design, women’s clothing, designer newbies, established names, changes in the street scenery and budding photographers.
Explore 21st Century China through a fashion focused lens and enjoy the ongoing change and innovation within the everyday whirlwind that is China Fashion Design.
我们这边收集男装设计,女装设计,知名品牌,时尚达人和(刚起步的)摄影师中最流行的趋势.从中国制造到中国创造!